Reviews

The Boyfriend Subscription by Steven Salvatore

annebronte's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

2.75

A relatively fun, quick read. It's been years since I've seen 'Pretty Woman', so I can't speak much to any comparisons between the two. But that didn't take anything away from the book for me, and I think the book more or less stands on its own--some things might have more mileage, though, if you're more familiar with the movie. For me it was just not long enough for the amount of plot and emotions that get thrown at us. I did appreciate the strong pro-sex work stance this book has. 

But it just ricocheted too much for me--the book itself is, for the most part, briskly written. It felt like we didn't linger long enough, anywhere. That made it harder for me to get attached to the characters, or get invested in the conflicts--I just wanted the book to slow down.

But it was still a nice read for a quiet afternoon or two, it just didn't work for me. But I do get the feeling, especially considering that the joy the author had while writing this absolutely leaps off the page, that this book will find its intended audience in no time. 

My thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

sexual assault happens off page, but is described on page by a secondary character

theofficialzhang's review

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest, spoiler-free review!

Themes: Grief, love, sex

Representation: Gay MCs, Black and Lesbian SC, Polyamourous SCs

Content Warnings: Grief

Premise: Teddy lost his plant business and the love of his life. Cole doesn’t believe in love but after a press incident, he may need a fake boyfriend. The two of them meet and get involved, but will they fall in love?

Personal Comments

I thought this was a fairly lighthearted read that still focused on some more serious issues. Although some of the characters fell a bit into stereotypes, I thought that it overall, had great representation. Although I didn’t like how insta-love-y it was in the beginning, I liked seeing Teddy and Cole grow as people. I liked how the author tackled both of their mental health issues and I thought that the story and the emotional growth of the characters felt realistic despite it being only a one-week time frame.

As for some other things, I thought that the chapters were a bit long, although I didn’t mind it too much.

Characters

Cole: Cole is the millionaire and founder of VERSTL, an LGBTQ+ app for sex workers. He does not believe in love because of past events as well as parental pressures. He’s an extravagant character that has a lot of flair. As you read on, you can understand why he acts the way he does. You’ll start to understand his strained relationship with his parents as well and why he does not believe in love. However, ultimately, his views have changed.

Teddy: At the beginning of the book, Teddy loses his plant business after a divorce. I thought that the author did a decent job representing the grief that Teddy had with losing his husband and letting go of a place that he cared so dearly about: it’s not something you get over easily and it isn’t fair. Teddy’s character arc is above finding love after grief and figuring out that he too deserves love. 

Their Relationship: Although I’d say the first meeting between them felt rushed and slightly awkward (albeit that people do meet like this in real life), I liked that throughout the book the two characters supported each other and their chemistry developed. Also, if you’re a fan of smut, this book does have a lot of it. I’m pretty neutral about it.

Other Characters: I liked the relationship between Teddy and his best friend and Cole and his sister. It’s important to have familial and platonic relationships. So I thought that the support of Teddy’s best friend and Cole’s sister was a nice touch.

Plot

The Beginning: I thought that the beginning of the book was slow to start. However, I liked how the author introduced the backstory of the main characters. I thought that it was well-developed and helped to establish the plot and character development in the book.

The Middle: Some parts of the book were slow in the middle (which tends to happen in most books). However, there was enough tension and character development to keep the story moving. I’ll let you decide what you think of the middle for yourself.

The End: I thought that the ending of the book was well-resolved. You have the dramatic third act, which typically happens in a romance novel. Then it’s followed by a sweet moment or epilogue. This book tied up the loose threads and ended off right where it needed to.

Other

Format: The book was written in first-person present tense with alternating perspectives. I thought that it was fitting for it to be written in this tense because a, it’s a romance book, and b, it’s character so it makes it easier to see the character development. However, I’d say that perhaps the author could’ve made it clear when they switched between the different characters as sometimes I’d need a second to adjust to who the narrator was. Also, if you aren’t a fan of long chapters, then this book isn’t for you.

Themes: I thought that the themes were well-represented in the book. It’s important to talk about mental health and grief. And through the characters, Steven Salvatore represents the impact of heartbreak and relationships on one’s life. Anyway… the themes were refreshing to see and it was great to have an LGBTQ+ narrative on mental health that doesn’t negate it.

Final Rating

Personal Rating: 3.5/5

Characters: 4.5/5

Plot: 4/5

Formatting: 3.7/5

Final Rating: 3.9/5 (round to 4 stars)

Date Read: November 26th, 2023

Date Reviewed: December 3rd, 2023

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief

kelliemw's review

4.0

Thanks Netgalley for providing this book for me to read in return for a review. This was a quick afternoon read for me. The premise while not new was one that I haven’t read/seen a lot so it was refreshing. I genuinely enjoyed the plot and characters. I felt as if there was definition and depth lacking in some of the plot line and would have loved for more follow through on the aftermath of some of the events. Otherwise, great read and would definitely pick something else up from this author.

a9booknerd's review against another edition

emotional funny fast-paced

3.75

This was so cute! It was a Pretty Woman-esque story between successful seggs app entrepreneur, Cole, and Plant Daddy author, Teddy. Teddy is down on his luck and meets Cole for a one-night stand, which turns into him getting paid to be his fake boyfriend.he story was fun with a few twists and steaminess. I loved all of the characters in this book, especially Frank, the doorman at the hotel. It was a little insta-love between Teddy and Cole, which is not my cup of tea, but overall the story was sweet, sexy, and funny. And it had a grand gesture with an HEA. 

hptriviachamp's review

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 My review:

I LOVED the the first meeting between Teddy and Cole; the chemistry was there right off the bat interspersed with these moment of comedy, like when they swap tops on the steps of the Met and Teddy finds himself wearing a harness as he enters a five star hotel (but deals with it in the best way, namely, not giving a fuck and cheerfully making other people uncomfortable). 

Teddy (Teddy... Ted... inspired by Edward, perchance? Though he's the Vivian of the story as far as him being hired as a fake boyfriend for a week) is an energetic and endearing hero. Life's dealt him a few hard knocks and I appreciated his moments of vulnerability as much as I enjoyed how upbeat he was. Cole is super smooth and charming but is also pretty anxious and image-conscious, a product of his upbringing and his position as the CEO of a company trying to go public. Cole kind of functions as both the Edward and Vivian of this story, as both the CEO and sex worker, and he's the one with the infamous no-kissing rule. 

I love the concept of Cole not only being a CEO and creator of a queer dating/hook-up/OnlyFans-esque app, but he's also an extremely popular performer on the platform. Cole publicly calls himself an entrepreneur and a sex worker, which I imagine does a lot in terms of destigmatizing the profession and industry (even if he's in a position of relative privilege). That being said, I'm not sure if I buy his family not knowing that he's a sex worker, especially if his company is about to go public and they're pretty prominent in the business world too. But whatever, it's romanceland; I'm in it for the vibes, not the realism. 

So, this book clocks in at about 288 pages, and I started to wish that it was longer as I got to the second half of the book which is centered around Cole's sister's wedding. The plot started to feel pretty rushed: there was parental drama, a reporter outing Cole, Teddy's overprotective friends who Cole thinks might be conning him, a shitty employee, etc. There is sexual assault off-page, but we are barely given any time to contend with that before the main characters abruptly have to leave for the wedding. Ultimately, I think the story wraps up neatly, complete with what an effective grovel on Cole's part, but it's the middle bits that could have done with more expansion. 

The sex:

The sex was a pretty solid mix of sweet and sexy; there's lots of tender cuddling and heavy-petting and blowjobs. There is one sex scene with some pretty rough sex, which is something Teddy demands but later regrets, because he was asking for the internet version of Cole, the fantasy essentially, instead of the irl version of him. 

My one note was that there were some odd breaks/skips in the sex scenes. For example, there's a scene where Teddy is going down on Cole, but we don't actually see Cole orgasming. Instead, there's a skip and it seems like both Cole and Teddy have gotten each other off and now they're lingering in the afterglow. This happened a couple times. 

Overall:

I enjoyed The Boyfriend Subscription; it had all the beats of a romcom starting with a stellar meet-cute and some amazing chemistry between Cole and Teddy that carried throughout the book, even when the plot got a little over the place. This is actually a part of a new Harlequin imprint called Afterglow Books, and what I'm seeing is that it consists of diverse, romcom-type romances, and I'm looking forward to reading more books in this imprint!

Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. 

literary_ya's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

ARC Review (thanks NetGalley!) - Steven Salvatore has become one of my favorites, and seeing him shine in an adult(!!) romance makes my heart sing. This story, and these characters were so complex. I throughly enjoyed every minute of this book! 

irl_bookworms's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I was hooked from the tag line - we love SWs here and reading such positive (albeit privileged) representation in a romance novel is so refreshing. Not only is the physical and mental toll of being a SW addressed as well - but also the amount of emotional labour that goes into it. SWs are rockstars.

Cole is our SW entrepreneur who runs the app VERSTL (side note though: as a French Canadian, I highly doubt a French family would name their kid “Cole” - French folks would barely be able to pronounce it lol I know my dad couldn’t - that name and his family being French took me out of the story for a hot second). Teddy is our Plant Daddy who has just lost his business. When Cole and Teddy meet, they strike a deal - to pretend to date for 1 week so that Cole can have a fake boyfriend for PR. And the moment we see fake dating - we know exactly what’s going to happen and it is so very good.

Cole and Teddy’s physical relationship starts off very slow - like I’m talking cuddling naked slow, so you know, relatively speaking. But I really enjoyed reading about the growth of intimacy between the two of them before they took sex to the next level. It was very much appreciated.

Overall, the plot is fairly standard - exactly what it says on the tin - but we all know it and we love it when we pick it up. I’m excited to see what this author does next!

*I received an eARC from Harlequin - Romance, Afterglow Books by Harlequin, & NetGalley. All opinions are my own*

soozn's review

emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75